New Zagat Guide Rates World's Top Hotels, Resorts

April 8, 2001|The Boston Globe Chicago Tribune

Most travelers decide where they want to go and then choose their lodgings. Those who want to pick the hotel first now have a reference book, a new Zagat Survey, "Top International Hotels, Resorts and Spas."

The emphasis is indeed on top, as in top dollar. For example, the chain rated No. 1, Amanresorts -- which includes properties in Indonesia, the Philippines, Morocco, Thailand, French Polynesia and France -- charges an average $490 a night. The most expensive of the 875 hotels in the book is the Ritz in Paris, averaging $507 a night.

The hotels rated as best in the world (not including the United States and Puerto Rico, which are covered by a separate book) were compiled with the assistance of nearly 12,000 people who made out surveys. According to the publishers, the surveyors put in a total of 365,000 nights over the past year in the lodgings covered, getting spa treatments under an open-air Arabian tent at the Ritz-Carlton in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, say, or calling on the tuxedo-clad butler assigned to your room at the Oberoi Towers in Bombay.

The hotels are organized by continent and nation, and an index lists them by such variables as casino gambling, beach settings, wild-game watching, child-friendliness, golf, fishing and fireplaces in rooms. The guide may be useful to those who want to rub elbows with OPEC ministers, but it also works as dream material -- just imagine narration by Robin Leach. The book, $12.95, is available at bookstores and newsstands.

Best for the buck

Speaking of money, the April issue of Money magazine has chosen its best places to vacation for this summer. Editors sought uncrowded spots that have great natural beauty but aren't retreats from civilization; places offering a broad range of activities, from outdoor adventures to cultural activities; and getaways that are great values -- not cheap, but worth their price.

The Top 12, listed roughly west to east, include Amador County, Calif.; Vancouver, Canada; San Diego, Calif.; Sedona, Ariz.; Steamboat Springs, Colo.; the coast of Michigan; Shenandoah Valley, Va.; the coast of North Carolina; Montreal, Canada; South County, R.I.; Nova Scotia, Canada; and the Virgin Islands.